Paul Skenes was on his way home on Monday night when he was driving past a local Little League field. The Pittsburgh Pirates star suddenly pulled his car over. He spent more than two hours hanging out with the young players. He signed autographs, took pictures, and played catch. This surprise visit was the perfect stress relief for Skenes, who is going through a tough pitching slump right now.

His girlfriend, the former LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne, watched the whole thing happen on a video call. She quickly went on social media to share the cute moment.

“Remembering your MLB bf is just a boy because wdym he saw a little league team practicing while driving home and pulled over to show me and play catch with them,” Dunne wrote.

For the young baseball players, having one of the best pitchers in the world show up out of nowhere is a memory they will never forget. But Skenes is actually known for this kind of kindness. He constantly gives back to the community. He even pledges to donate $100 for every strikeout he throws to help military veterans and first responders.

Big league players are mostly seen interacting with little leaguers during the MLB Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. During this event, which includes an MLB ballgame, the youth players get to interact with their favorite big leaguers. However, Skenes’ visit to Ingomar Frankline Park was not an official, orchestrated event, which just adds more to the feel-good factor.

The NL Cy Young winner will be on the mound on Tuesday at PNC Park, ready to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers. In his 13 starts this season, Skenes posted a 2.83 ERA with a 0.90 WHIP. His 4.7% walk rate remains among the top 4% pitchers of MLB.

Ahead of his next start, the Pirates general manager has expressed his faith in Skenes.

Pirates GM shows trust in Skenes

Paul Skenes took the loss in three of his last four games. During this stretch, Skenes surrendered a season-high 9 hits in 5.1 innings against the Toronto Blue Jays on May 23. Fans have also noticed his pitches are a little slower lately. However, the Pirates’ general manager Ben Cherington is not worried.

“Well, the highest level of trust in him for sure, and he’s still throwing really hard, obviously,” Cherington said on The Pirates Insider Show on 93.7 The Fan, per SI. “We’ve seen some bounces up and down in the velo. I haven’t seen any significant change since Spring Training, but he’s so good in so many ways. He doesn’t really need to throw 100 [mph] to be successful, and he knows that.”

Skenes’ fastball, which was clocking above 98mph in his Cy Young years, now sits at 97mph.

Cherington also spoke about Skenes’ participation in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, and how it might have affected his build-up in Spring Training.

“If there is anything different with Paul, we did have the WBC, that simply meant that his preparation for Spring Training was a little bit different than it had been in the two years prior,” explained Cherington. “I think it would be natural and understandable if, as we get into the season, there’s an adjustment from that.”

Skenes registered two starts for Team USA in the WBC this year. His first appearance came against Mexico during the pool play round, when he threw four shutout innings to take the win. He made another dominant start in the high-stakes semi-final against the Dominican Republic, where he allowed only one run, a homer to Junior Caminero. Team USA won the game but proceeded to lose the final to Venezuela.

In the end, Skenes’ surprise visit to the Little League field shows that he is still a humble guy who loves baseball. As he gets ready to pitch against a very tough Dodgers team on Tuesday, he will try to shake off his recent struggles and prove his boss right.